Greece will introduce an increase in military service for conscripts serving in the army from nine to 12 months, starting in May, as part of a program to boost the armed forces amid tension with regional rival Turkey. The decision made public Friday will bring army service in line...

Israel’s defense minister said his country is upgrading contingency plans to strike Iranian targets if Tehran shows signs of nuclear escalation, the latest sign of rising tensions between the two archenemies. Benny Gantz told the American cable network Fox News that Israel is still...

The United States accused Syrian President Bashar Assad and his close ally Russia on Thursday of trying to block all efforts to hold Damascus accountable for using chemical weapons during attacks on civilians. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the U.N. Security Council that...

Dozens of Christians are gathering at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Baghdad hours before Pope Francis was due to land in Iraq for a first papal visit to the war-weary country. Men, women and children gathered inside the church early in the morning. Many were not wearing masks and sat...

The International Organization for Migration says at least 20 migrants are dead after smugglers threw 80 overboard during a voyage from Djibouti in East Africa to Yemen. A statement says “smugglers started shouting there were too many on board” after the boat with 200 migrants, including...

A group of Syrian chemical attack survivors and Syrian rights groups have filed a criminal complaint in France over two August 2013 attacks outside Damascus, pointing to the alleged responsibility of the Syrian government in what would constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity....

Abu Dhabi’s national carrier Etihad on Thursday reported core operating losses of $1.7 billion in 2020, reflecting the severe toll of the coronavirus pandemic on the long-troubled airline that has lost billions in recent years. Etihad reported revenues of $2.7 billion in 2020 compared to...

Israel's environmental protection minister on Thursday stood by her allegation that a crude oil spill in the eastern Mediterranean last month was an intentional attack by Iran but provided no evidence for her claim. Defense officials remained silent about the charge by Gila Gamliel, a...

Iran has agreed to sit down with international technical experts investigating the discovery of uranium particles at three former undeclared sites in the country, the head of the U.N. atomic watchdog said Thursday, after months of frustration at Tehran's lack of a credible explanation....

An inquiry into claims that the European Union’s border and coast guard agency was involved in illegally pushing back migrants has found no link to Frontex in any of the incidents but has been unable to establish what happened in five cases, according to the official report into the...

Egyptian health authorities on Thursday launched the second phase of a nationwide vaccination campaign against the coronavirus by vaccinating some of the country's elderly and those with underlying medical conditions. Health Minister Hala Zayed said that patients will be receiving the...

A military helicopter crashed in eastern Turkey on Thursday, killing nine soldiers on board and injuring four others, the Defense Ministry said. The Cougar type helicopter crashed in a rural area near the town of Tatvan, in the predominantly Kurdish-populated Bitlis province. It was on...

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) in Gaza welcomed the decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to launch an investigation into alleged Israeli crimes in the Palestinian territories. "This is a remarkable and historic decision and we have waited for a long time"...

Amnesty International urged on Thursday Egyptian authorities to release a 29-year-old mother from custody after she went missing nearly two years ago together with her husband and toddler in what the group says was an act of forced disappearance. According to a statement by the London-based...

 Zaman al-Wasl has learned that the Russian forces are preparing to set up a permanent military base near the historic city of Palmyra in the middle of the Syrian desert. The new bastion will be equipped in Mont al-Mazar, or Jabal al-Mazar, about 13 kilometers north of Palmyra,...

LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace said Wednesday it was launching an investigation after a newspaper reported that a former aide had made a bullying allegation against the Duchess of Sussex. The Times of London reported allegations that the duchess drove out two personal assistants and...

 (AP) — “It’s a world of lawlessness,” Rev. Kim Dal-sung muttered over the phone as he drove his tiny KIA over narrow dirt paths zigzagging through greenhouses made of plastic sheets and tubes. In the bleak landscape of dull blue and gray in Pocheon, a town near South Korea’s...

BAGHDAD (AP) — It began like any other Sunday in the Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad for worshipper Louis Climis. That day nearly 11 years ago would end with blood-stained pews, anguish and lives lost. Six al-Qaeda-linked militants stormed and seized the church, killing dozens...

Denmark has come under criticism for becoming the first European nation to tell Syrian refugees they must return to their home country. The Scandinavian nation has stripped 94 Syrian refugees of their residency permits after it determined Damascus and the surrounding area to be safe....

The Syrian pound hit a record low Wednesday just days before the Arab country marks the 10th anniversary of a conflict that has left hundreds of thousands dead and large swaths destroyed. The U.S. dollar was trading on the black market at 4,000 pounds, increasing the misery of many...